With the talks of Christmas now on the cards as the big day looms on the horizon, it’s time to begin scratching your head and thinking about what to get the girl who loves to travel the world. It might be a touch early to think about Christmas, but in my books, the earlier you begin preparing, the better! I like to enjoy my December without frantically running around shops grabbing anything for loved ones; thought goes out the window and everyone ends up with a panicked buy that isn’t particularly well-thought out.
If you have a dear friend who is abroad at the moment, I’m sure they would appreciate and cherish a gift winging its way to them, wherever they may be in the world. But this of course means forward thinking. Getting the gift ready to be shipped is paramount as who knows how long it can take for it to get over to their little island in the Andaman sea, or wherever they may be sunning themselves.
I’ve collated some top picks for any wanderlust lady – whether it’s a present for Christmas, their birthday or even just a small ‘I miss you’ token, these travel gifts will surely mean the world to your absent friend.
Coordinates Jewellery
For those far away who miss home, this could be a real sweet little gift. Find out the coordinates from their hometown and get in touch with designers, such as those on Etsy or at the Coordinates Collection, for help to get pieces customised. A small piece of jewellery won’t take up too much room in their bags and it will be a piece of home that has made it out to them.
Grant Legan &Â Coordinates Collection
Shop some sweet pieces here:
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Passport Cover
This is a classic gift for those who love to travel, and the ideal thing to send when your friend has been on the road for a while. Their existing cover may be ratty with spilt beer staining the cover and teeth marks from when they’ve run out of hands and are pegging it through an airport for their flight. Perhaps invest in one with a hardy leather cover for them to continue their travels with, or one with some lovely inspirational quotes on to keep them trucking when the going gets tough.
Etsy Shop: Bows & Arrows Design
Shop some covers here:
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A Food Hamper
Whilst we all do love shoving our faces into the new and exciting cuisine of new cultures, homesickness can bring the longing for the snacks, treats and meals of home. You could put together your own package full of their favourite foods and ship it out, or take advantage of companies set-up to do this for you.
British Corner Shop is the British online supermarket which can get a big (or small!) box of English goodies to anywhere in the world. To receive some proper British Cadbury chocolate would have made me weep with joy when living in Australia!
Travel Journal
A lovely little notebook is always a welcomed gift for those who like to write! A travel journal is the thing to use to help record those memories, especially the aspects that photographs don’t capture. The feelings of being on the road, the sights that have left your mouth agape, the funny anecdotes that you don’t want to forget and the interesting conversations you have with people can all be easily forgotten if they’re not written down.
If they haven’t taken a notepad or are fast running out of space in their current journal, send one out to them and perhaps scatter the odd message within the book to surprise and delight them in a few months.
Shop cute journals:
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Favourite Beauty Product
When on the road for a long time, the products that travellers take with them initially soon run out and they have to make do with whatever they stumble on in the nearest shop. Finding a good lip balm, moisturiser or perfume that is similar to the ones at home can be an issue depending on country, unless you happen to be passing through big airports with a great duty-free range. Sure, new, strange and exotic products may be discovered, but if you know your absent friends faves, then why not pop their most coveted beauty products in the post. To have a small touch of luxury, no matter how basic it is at home, can really bring a smile to your face.
Try beauty websites with international shipping, such as Bath and Unwind, to get some luxurious beauty to one far overseas.Â
Fun Smartphone Lens
It goes without saying that whatever you gift a traveller, it has to be small and easy for them to carry, or it may be ditched… harsh but true. Now this gift, I personally am VERY keen to get (that’s a hint, Alex!). Send these tiny Olloclip lenses to your friend abroad and you’ll soon be swamped by photos they’ll be sending as a thank you!
These small lenses range from macro lenses, telescopic lenses, wide angle (who needs a selfie stick with this one!) and fish-eye. Some are even 3-in-1 or 4-in-1! Perfect for those travellers who predominantly use their phones to document their journeys.
Mini Speakers
When packing, a mini speaker may not be on the forefront of your mind, but when you get out to your little beachside hut in the middle of nowhere… some tunes would be ideal! The sound of the sea is great, but when you’re sat having a chat with friends some music would make it perfect. Get hold of some small speakers and ship them out to make sure that they can blast out some tunes on Christmas Day!
Try the EasyAcc Shockproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker or JBL Flip 2 Bluetooth NFC Portable Stereo Speaker
A Kindle
Imagine you’ve been on the road for a solid few months. You’ve been carting around books and swapping with those who you encounter in hostels/on buses and have been ploughing through a small library of random reads. Some not quite to your usual genre, others that have been a bit snooze-worthy but a hell of a lot better than staring at the ceiling fan of your room.
But then you receive a package from home and you open it up to find a fully charged Kindle
A Multi-Purpose Towel
“Eugh, how boring!†you might think. Who the heck wants a towel for Christmas? Well, mon chère, a multi-purpose towel would be greatly appreciated by someone struggling with merely a sarong on the road. A sarong can be sufficient, until you meet Findikili Design.
These towels luxuriously soften with use, are beautiful, thin, highly absorbing and fast drying. Handcrafted in Turkey in lovely designs, they can cram up small in any travellers case and be used as a sarong, a blanket, a towel and as a beach mat. They can even make great throws when the traveller finally calls a place home and wants to jazz up a threadbare sofa!
A Homemade Video
Not every gift has to cost a bomb or come with fancy packaging. If you’re organise enough to get planning now, you can gather your family to send a lovely video message to a sibling overseas and maybe throw in a couple of their best mates in for good measure.
Burn it onto a DVD, send it through WeTransfer (make sure they know they have a limited time to download it) or attach it to an email – however you do it, it’ll sure be a tearjerker for any who miss their family at this time of year. And if they don’t cry, send them a heart made of stone and a lump of coal.
These are just the tip of the iceberg if you’re already thinking of Christmas presents to send to those overseas. Get preparing now, feel relieved that one present is ticked off your list and feel a touch smug that you’ve got a pretty sweet or useful present for them.
What will you be gifting a traveller this Christmas?
*This post contains affiliate links
Sophie Saint was one of the original travelettes, from 2009 – 2017. After fleeing the UK with ink barely dry on her graduation certificate, she traversed the world with a backpack and spent a few years living in Melbourne – one of her favourite cities in the world.
She finally returned to the UK after a few years where she now whiles time away zipping off for European escapes, crocheting and daydreaming of owning her own hostel somewhere hot to live out eternal summers. See what she’s up to over on her blog saintsonaplane.com and instagram: @saintsonaplane
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